Early CHOICES is returning to NIU. Funded by an Illinois State Board of Education Training and Technical Assistance grant, the initiative that launched on campus in 1990 focuses on the “least restrictive environment” (LRE) for children ages 3 to 5, which is
Read moreStephanie Baker, Natalie Andzik travel to Thailand to deliver pair of workshops
When Yuwadee Viriyangkura needed more experts and broader perspectives to provide professional development to educators in Thailand, she remembered a classmate and friend from her doctoral studies at Illinois State University. Stephanie Baker. Viriyangkura is the creator of the well-regarded Association of
Read moreLin Zhu empowers Indonesian teachers, local leaders with strategies that foster inclusive early childhood classrooms
A new member of the Department of Special and Early Education faculty arrived in DeKalb with a cool “What I Did This Summer” story. Lin Zhu, assistant professor of Early Childhood Special Education, designed and delivered professional development via Zoom to empower
Read moreNew, federally funded project to prepare special education teachers for rural, small-town northwest Illinois districts
More than two dozen classroom paraprofessionals and long-term substitutes in rural and small-town school districts throughout the northwest corner of the state are embarking on a tuition-free path to becoming special education teachers. The NIU College of Education’s Licensed Educator Accelerated Pathway
Read moreCongratulations!
Michelle Sands, assistant professor of Special Education in the Department of Special and Early Education, has joined Illinois’ Pyramid Model State Leadership Team (SLT). The Illinois SLT recognizes that the Pyramid Model – a conceptual framework of evidence-based practices for promoting young
Read moreSESE 448 students visit Batavia to see Valley Sheltered Workshop operations
For students with disabilities, life naturally goes on after school ends. To help facilitate that, their IEPs (individualized education programs) are required by federal law to include a coordinated set of activities, measurable post-secondary employment goals and annual updates based on age-appropriate
Read morePLEDGE-ECC celebrates new graduates, program’s alumni roster surpasses 100
Olivia Warren had never really considered becoming a teacher. A part-time job as an elementary school cafeteria/recess aide changed that. “I was interested in going into social work because I really like the mental health aspect,” Warren says. “Then, I started working
Read moreNew Teacher Send-off urges graduates to believe ‘that every student can learn’
For the NIU College of Education’s spring group of educator licensure graduates, part of their professional mission was made clear May 9 during the New Teacher Send-off. Rachael Mahmood, the 2024 Illinois Teacher of the Year and a 2016 alumna of the
Read moreGood dog! Visual Disabilities students visit The Seeing Eye, Inc. in New Jersey
Orientation and Mobility majors in NIU’s Visual Disabilities program traveled to Morristown, New Jersey, in April to visit The Seeing Eye, Inc. The philanthropic organization strives to enhance the independence, dignity and self-confidence of people who are blind or visually disabled. Its
Read moreA heart for students: Kim Suedbeck set to retire from instilling future teachers with compassion, grand expectations
Life has come full circle for Kim Suedbeck. “I started babysitting at a young age. I loved kids, and I always thought I was going to be a teacher – and I never changed my mind,” says Suedbeck, a clinical assistant professor
Read moreEarly Childhood Education majors visit Riverwoods Montessori school to see, experience a different way of teaching
Carolyn Kambich winds her way through a group of NIU College of Education visitors at Riverwoods Montessori Elementary School to announce that an impromptu piano performance is taking place just down the hall. Sure enough, a young girl – maybe in fourth-grade,
Read moreUpward: ‘Blindness Experience’ scores rave reviews, nearly doubles enrollment
When Stacy Kelly debuted SEVI 205/505: The Blindness Experience last spring, 80 students from throughout the NIU campus registered for the new general education course. And then they told their friends. Enrollment has nearly doubled to 150 this semester – and Kelly,
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